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Sunday, 30 October 2016

Hi!

I'm looking forward to seeing the end of October - I'm not a fan of Halloween at all so this last week has been a drag. I'm so fed up of the OTT decorations and the fancy dress (I'm such a Halloween Scrooge, sorry), I just want November to get here already. I can't wait for Bonfire Night and then to embrace Christmas full on without shame. 🎄

Anyone else ready for November? I can't wait for the temperatures to drop so I can break out the scarves and gloves and wrap myself up like a burrito. I bought a tiny Christmas tree from Paperchase on Wednesday that I've already assembled and decorated but it's in the spare room at the moment waiting for the appropriate time to come out. I'm just dying for Christmas, I don't know what it is about this year but I'm so excited I could burst. I'm thinking I might move my Christmas tree in around mid-November because I'm just too eager.

I picked up the November issue of The Simple Things on Friday. I love this magazine to bits, I still remember picking up the February issue not long after I'd come home from uni and it was so calming to read, it really put me at ease when I was feeling a little bit lost. It's the only magazine I've ever consistently bought. I've not missed an issue since February, and I even went on eBay to buy the January issue just so I had all of the 2016 issues together. Bit addicted.

Hope you have a fun Halloween (if you celebrate it) and hope you have a lovely start to your November.

Thursday, 27 October 2016

Hi!

Autumn is in full force now. All the trees in my hometown seem to have turned this gorgeous shade of bright orangey gold colour overnight. The roads are covered in crisp leaves and the air is properly cold and it looks and feels so magical. I work next to a park and it's such a gorgeous scene this time of year. If I remember and/or get the time, I'll take some photos. There's a river that runs through it and it has a sensory garden with a church overlooking it. Very picturesque!

I got a really exciting delivery today while I was at work. Erin Boyle's Simple Matters arrived and it is the most aesthetically pleasing book I've ever seen. I've had a flick through it and some of the chapters look so good, I can't wait to delve in. I love hardback books so much, they feel so special to hold.

If you've read this book let me know! It's been on my wish list for months now and I finally found it online for a bargain (it's in used condition but it looks brand new to me).

If you didn't know already from my Twitter, I had a fun but rather hectic day yesterday - I did a big shop at Meadowhall and did not expect the entirety of South Yorkshire to be there too. I managed to pick up some Christmas presents (three family members ticked off the list) and some nice things for myself (of course). I'm thinking about making a separate post about what I bought so stay tuned for that if you enjoy hauls. If not, I'll include it in my next update post.

Hope you're having a good week, I was at work all day today but it was such a fun shift. I really enjoy my job and I love my co-workers, they're such a laugh. Long shifts are nothing when you're having a good time and you're genuinely happy.

Monday, 24 October 2016

Hi!

It's been a wee while since my last update post. To be honest, it's because I've done absolutely nothing for about two weeks. Well, nothing worth documenting. I've been to work, nipped into town a few times, visited family (and dog - pictured above ripping his second elephant toy to shreds), and basically just pottered about the house. I've been loving the new series of Taskmaster on Dave - if you haven't seen it, please check it out on UKTV Play. They still have series 1 and 2 up there too so catch them while you can. Oh, and I've been rewatching Zoella's 2015 Vlogmas videos. IS IT DECEMBER YET??????

I've been on a spending ban this month because I'm going Christmas shopping on Wednesday and I've been trying really hard to save as much as I can. I get paid tomorrow too so I'm really excited to splurge a bit - on myself and my family. I'm hoping to get everyone's presents on Wednesday so it's all out of the way and I can chill for the rest of the year. That's my plan anyway(!)

I've officially got Christmas music on my iTunes again - I pinched a couple of songs off my mum's Now That's What I Call Christmas 2013 album so I've been listening to a few of my faves. What's your favourite Christmas song? Mine's Saviour's Day by Cliff. I love 2000 Miles by The Pretenders too. In fact there's not many I don't like.

So aside from listening to Christmas music, chilling in my pyjamas (what's new), and going off to work every now and then, I've not done a great deal. Being on a spending ban is easier than I thought it would be but it's hella boring. It also makes you realise that everything you do and anywhere you go costs money. ☹️ Boo.

Sunday, 23 October 2016

Welcome to my shelf...ie!

This is the classic Gersby bookcase from IKEA. It's absolutely brill - before I had three CD/DVD towers lined up which was OK for a while but I needed even more space and the towers were a bit restricting, so I picked up this spacious bookcase in the spring. It houses all sorts; books of every shape and size, DVDs (not pictured, they're on the bottom shelf), magazine files, teddy bears(!), Pop! figures, faux plants, mini vases (also from IKEA) and my sewing box. I hope you enjoy this shelf tour and insight into my taste in books.

Note: Tried out a digital camera for this post - it's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ71. Not the best photos (I left the settings on auto because I'm a camera n00b) but I'm hoping to improve with time :) Let me know what you think! Also my bedroom is north-facing so the lighting is terrible all year round. Apologies for that.

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

I may be a bit obsessed with bath and shower products. I have a box full under my bed as well as my everyday products in the bathroom crammed in the windowsill. I just can't have a plain, straight-forward bath - it needs a bubble bar, bath bomb, or some bath salts in it because water alone can be really dehydrating so I try and buy products that have lots of moisture (and that are organic and/or cruelty free).

I thought I would include a handful of my favourite bath and shower products here for you guys to shop.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any information on Organik Botanik Australia, so I'd suggest a trip to TK Maxx to see if you can find any of their other products there. I also couldn't find a shop-able link for the Good Things bath soak, but you can find a ton more Good Things products here including lots of Manuka Honey goodies.

Sunday, 16 October 2016

Hi!

I bought this flowery canvas some time last year from Wilko and I've always loved it - it matches the colour scheme of my room perfectly - but lately I've felt it could do with a little face lift. I love playing around with glitter glue so at first I had planned to outline all the flowers with silver glitter, but I stumbled upon these pearlescent paints at Hobbycraft instead and wow - I'm so glad I didn't go down the glitter route.

I originally picked up one of the Ranger Ink paints - the pale cream colour (shade 'Bisque') - and after testing it out and loving it, I bought 'Ballerina' and 'Lavender Lace' off eBay. You can shop Ranger Ink products here on Hobbycraft.

I was going to go round all the flowers at first, but I've done two on each row and I like it this way. I might do every flower eventually but at the moment I kinda like having some left plain.

Pearlescent paint has become my new fave thing. I want all the shades.

Friday, 14 October 2016

I'd say a good chunk of people suffer with Seasonal Affective/Adjustment Disorder (SAD), including myself on occasion. Despite autumn and winter being my favourite seasons, the lack of light really gets to me and it can drive me nuts. Incessant rain and darkness can be miserable, but there are ways to get through it with little misery.

1. Starting with an obvious one - make the most of the daylight!! ☀️

Just be out in daylight as often as possible, even if it's a bit grey and wet. I like going shopping on days like that, meandering from shop to shop and chilling in cafes and taking it easy. If the weather's a bit naff, get out of bed and do some 'spring' cleaning. Open your curtains, get dressed, put Friends on and get moving. Being active will make you feel less of a zombie. If the weather's nice, make the most of the wintry sun - visit a National Trust site, walk the dog, visit a farmer's market, drive around, see the sights etc. Wrap up warm and enjoy the daylight while we've got it.

2. Create a calming, atmospheric space 😌

Everyone likes a candle. I have two on my bedside table that I light almost every night because they're just so atmospheric and combined they smell amazing. I feel like I'm in a winter wonderland with flickering flames beside me and sparkly fairy lights above me. Love those little additions of light in the winter. If a candle doesn't chill you out, I don't know what will.

3. Binge watch a ton of TV... because you can 📺

Dark nights are the perfect excuse to binge watch TV shows and movies. Take up this opportunity to get cosy and watch all the TV, because no-one goes out in the evenings in winter anyway, do they? Do they?

4. Eat well and get moving 🍓

I'm hardly an advocate for healthy eating seeing as I eat on average 1 vegetable a year, but I know how good healthy eating is for your mood. I try to eat well, and I think it's more important in the colder months because you need good brain food to keep you feeling happy. Do your best to get a little bit more veg and fruit into your diet. Doing some light exercise can also lift your mood, even if it's just walking around the block or the park. There's no need to go hardcore in the gym if that's not your cup of tea.

5. Delve into a good book 📚

I suggest the Harry Potter series at this time of year because it's so wonderfully autumnal it hurts. Books are the perfect comfort thing when you're feeling a bit down. Escaping into a book distracts you from reality for a bit which is nice when you're feeling out of sorts.

6. Embrace the holidays!! 🎅

If you're a bit like me and you tend to hibernate in bed in the colder months and around the Christmas period, try stepping out of your comfort zone embrace everything festive and joyous. Take your family and/or friends out and listen to some carol singing, see a pantomime, watch the lights switch-on in your local town, take the kids to see Santa, or go to a Christmas market and drink too much hot chocolate and rum and enjoy those classic Christmas tunes. Wear your thickest scarf and woolliest mittens and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year. Might as well, you can't escape it(!!!) Being a Scrooge is boring anyway. Christmas is so full of joy and wonder, it might distract you from the fact that you haven't seen the sun in weeks.

Straight to the point - a SAD lamp/light box gives off artificial daylight to brighten your mood. I've linked to a helpful article above from The Independent showcasing 10 lamps so you can have a look at the different models and price ranges. They're not cheap but they're supposedly really good (my mum has one and loves it), so if it's something you're interested in I'd recommend getting one, but do some research first. You can even buy an alarm clock that gradually wakes you up with light, so the morning doesn't hit you as hard when you wake up.

Hope my tips are useful to some of you. If you have any tips of your own, leave them in the comments! I'd love to know what you do to combat a low mood this time of year, because I know it can be hard.

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

I wanted to put together a selection of quotes that I love because there's nothing like some good prose to get you through the week.

"But a chair, sunlight, flowers: these are not to be dismissed. I am alive, I live, I breathe, I put my hand out, unfolded, into the sunlight."

— Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

"I hope our daughters are born with so much fire in their souls they could put volcanoes and stars to shame."
— Nikita Gill, Girls Made of Fire

"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

— J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

"They have been through the fire, and what fire does not destroy, it hardens."
— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

"When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in it in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad; and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one’s ramble was over, and slippered feet were propped on the fender; of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries"

— Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

"For what it’s worth: It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over."
— F. Scott Fitzgerald

Saturday, 8 October 2016

This was bound to happen. After my blankets showcase, I knew I had to move onto socks, and it makes sense now it's finally October and getting a tad chilly outside.

Cosy socks are everything to me - if I could wear big fluffy gimmicky bed socks everywhere, trust me, I would. I've turned into one of those people who asks for socks for Christmas, even though when I was a kid I hated them with a burning passion. I think every adult eventually grows up and realises how heavenly socks actually are and how ungrateful they were as a kid not appreciating socks from their nan. Now, if I don't get socks for Christmas, I'm kinda disappointed.

I've picked ten toasty pairs for you guys to shop. Hope you enjoy!

Note: I have the Fat Face pair in a different design (here) and I can vouch for their comfiness and softness.

Thursday, 6 October 2016

What I'm...

Watching: I recently finished watching Luke Cage on Netflix which I enjoyed so much. I didn't think I would (with not knowing much about the character) but I think it was better than Jessica Jones. I think. I'm not 100% sure on that yet. However nothing will ever beat Daredevil for me.

Reading: I'm slowly making my way through a few books (which you can see here) but I've not made much progress with them recently. Instead I have enjoyed flicking through Style at Home magazine; Ideal Home has gone a bit too Vogue for me now (read: too many adverts) so Style at Home has become my new fave interiors mag. Plus it's got more DIY ideas and affordable pieces in it.

Feeling: A bit out of sorts. My cat went missing last Saturday and I've been feeling a bit weird since, like I don't feel like my usual self. It's been hard trying to come to terms with the fact that she may not come back. There's still a bit of hope, but we've not had great luck with cats in the past (they seem to always run off or get run over) so I can't help but be a bit of a Debbie downer about it all. For all I know she's fine and she's just being fed by someone else... cats are so disloyal, but we love them.

Thinking: About blogging, and how I'm so bad at it!!! I wish I had more motivation to blog and keep a regular schedule but at the moment I feel so blah because of stress and the last dregs of this cold that blogging is becoming the last thing I want to do. I've also had a migraine for about five days which is kicking my arse so that's not helping.

Monday, 3 October 2016

The lovely people over at Loot Crate have been looking for people to put together ideas for a Dream Crate - I jumped at the chance to curate my own crate full of cool nerd stuff. It was an immediate 'hell yes'. If you don't know what Loot Crate is, keep reading...

Loot Crate is a subscription box service that provides its subscribers with awesome geeky products every month. It's described as being "Comic-Con in a box" (source) which sums it up perfectly. Check out their past crates to see what they've sent out in previous months.

There's also a possibility that someone's dream crate will be selected to become a reality!

I went with the theme 'Ladies' for my dream crate because I wanted to represent the fabulous female characters that we know and love from comics, sci-fi, and fantasy. There are six Marvel-ous (ha-ha, I did a pun) items in my dream crate. Check them out below!

I became a fan of Star Trek through JJ Abrams' 2009 release, so I'm only really a 'Trekkie' through the new films, which might be considered sacrilege to hardcore fans of the original series. I have watched a few episodes of the OS, but I never watched it as a kid and I hardly ever see it on TV anymore, so it's not something I can easily access.

My favourite characters - in the movies and the OS - are Uhura and Spock. I'm not a fan of them as a couple (gasp) but I love them individually. I have a Spock Pop! figure already (he stands in between Hermione Granger and Finn from TFA at the moment) so Uhura would be in my dream crate so I could have my two Trek faves side by side on my shelf.

Hermione themed stickers! Hermione Granger is an epic lady in a very cool series and I love her. I watched the Harry Potter movies constantly as a young 'un, and obviously still do. The movies are my go-to in the winter - there's something cosy and festive about them, does anyone else think this? Hermione has always been my favourite, no other character has ever compared.

I've only read two Harry Potter books (I know, that is sacrilege) but I'm slowly working my way through the rest.

I've included these stickers because not only do I love Hermione Granger and pretty much anything Harry Potter related, I love stationery and stickers were my jam as a kid. Who am I kidding, they're still my jam.

Because David Tennant was my first Doctor, Rose Tyler was therefore my first companion. Rose will always be my favourite companion, nobody else can compare. I liked Donna a lot, but Rose was still number 1. Doomsday always comes to mind when I think of Rose. Possibly the saddest episode of anything ever. And the episode where Rose gets to be with the clone of the Doctor and everything is perfect for a bit. Ahhh.

I really liked the vintage tattoo design of this print - it's cool and different and would look so awesome framed. If I had the space I would genuinely have this on my bedroom wall. Plus, it's subtle enough to look nice in any room with any scheme.

Game of Thrones is obviously my biggest obsession. I've talked about GoT a lot on the blog already, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I've managed to squeeze in something Thrones related. Daenerys is the most recognisable lady in GoT in my opinion. She owns the show, and she certainly dominates most of book 1 by marrying a Khal and inheriting some dragon eggs. So badass.

This t-shirt is subtle yet powerful - Thrones fans will probably be more impressed by this shirt's slogan, but still. It's a cool top with a bold statement and I figured it would suit just about anyone which is why I've included it in my crate.

I kinda knew I'd love Rey when I went to see TFA. She's such an excellent character - I'm so glad she was written in the way she was, and I'm so glad she defied so many stereotypes and cliches. Rey is an actual ray of sunshine (sorry, another pun). I'm not a fan of the older Star Wars movies (sacrilege yet again), but TFA was pure magic for me. This new series will be my series, and I'm so pumped to see the upcoming films.

I love the clean, uncomplicated, and kind of sophisticated look to this hardcover journal. It's different to a lot of the garish Star Wars merch you find in most shops and I'd die of joy if I got my hands on this in a crate.

I was drawn to this cute kawaii mug because it reminds me of the Marvel Disney Tsum Tsums that were released earlier this year. I managed to snag Captain America, Black Widow, and the Hulk when those were released. I just thought this mug was really cute and it's not very often you see Black Widow merch since, you know, there was a whole hoo-hah about Disney not including Black Widow in their Avengers merch back in 2015. I wish Black Widow was included in more merch because young Marvel fans (not just girls) look up to her and it's a shame to leave her out when she plays such a crucial role in the Avengers.

Hope you all enjoyed my Dream Crate choices - I had so much fun picking all the products and gushing about my favourite characters.

If you could put together your own Dream Crate, what items would you choose?